Substrate processing method, substrate processing system, and computer-readable storage medium

ABSTRACT

In the present invention, a plurality of rounds of patterning are performed on a substrate. In a patterning system, the substrate on which a first round of patterning has been performed is transferred to a planarizing film forming unit, where a planarizing film is formed above the substrate. The substrate is then transferred to the patterning system and subjected to a second round of patterning. The time from the completion of the forming processing of the planarizing film to the start of the second round of patterning is managed to be constant among the substrates. According to the present invention, in the pattern forming processing of performing a plurality of rounds of patterning, a pattern with a desired dimension can be stably formed above the substrate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a substrate processing method, asubstrate processing system, and a computer-readable storage medium.

2. Description of the Related Art

In a process of manufacturing a semiconductor device, for example,patterning is performed for forming a predetermined pattern in aspecific film to be processed above a wafer. In the patterning of thefilm to be processed, for example, a resist coating treatment ofapplying a resist solution to the top of the film to be processed abovethe wafer to form a resist film, exposure processing of applying lightin a predetermined pattern to the resist film above the wafer surface toexpose the resist film, heating processing of heating the wafer toaccelerate the chemical reaction in the exposed resist film(post-exposure baking), developing treatment of developing the heatedresist film and so on are performed in sequence using thephotolithography technique, whereby a predetermined resist pattern isformed in the resist film above the wafer surface. Thereafter, the filmto be processed is etched, for example, using the resist pattern as amask, and the resist pattern is then removed, whereby a predeterminedpattern is formed in the film to be processed.

To form a finer pattern to further miniaturize the semiconductor device,conventionally the wavelength of light for use in the exposureprocessing in the above-described patterning has been increasinglyreduced. Only by the method of increasingly reducing the wavelength forexposure, however, it is difficult to form a fine semiconductor deviceat a level of, for example, 32 nm or 45 nm. Hence, it is proposed toperform a plurality of rounds of patterning, for example, on the film tobe processed at the same layer above the wafer surface to form a finerpattern, so as to miniaturize the semiconductor device (Japanese PatentApplication Laid-open No. H7-147219).

If a second round of patterning is started to form a resist film abovethe surface of the wafer, for example, immediately after a first roundof patterning is completed, the resist film may not be formed flat dueto projections and depressions of the pattern in the first round abovethe surface of the wafer. If the resist film is not formed flat asdescribed above, a poor condition may occur, such as deviation of focusof exposure during subsequent exposure processing. Therefore, it isdesirable to form a film for flattening (hereinafter, referred to as a“planarizing film”) the surface of the substrate after the precedinground of patterning is completed and before the subsequent round ofpatterning is started.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the case of performing the forming processing of a planarizing filmbetween the successive rounds of patterning using an existing technique,it is conceivable that a plurality of wafers on which the precedinground of patterning has been completed are successively housed into acassette and transferred as a unit of a cassette to a planarizing filmforming unit. Further, it is also conceivable that the wafers for whichthe forming processing of the planarizing film in the planarizing filmforming unit has been completed are successively housed into a cassette,and transferred as a unit of a cassette from the planarizing filmforming unit to a unit that performs patterning.

In such a case, however, time management for each of the wafers isusually difficult, thus causing time from the formation of theplanarizing film to the start of the subsequent round of patterning tobe different for each wafer.

This makes the volatilization volume of a volatile component in theplanarizing film and the amount of moisture or the like adhering to theplanarizing film differ from wafer to wafer, resulting in, for example,variation in acid concentration of the planarizing film. As describedabove, for example, the variation in acid concentration of theplanarizing film causes an unstable shape of the resist pattern which isto be formed using the planarizing film as a base. This is because theshape of the resist pattern formed by the exposed portion dissolvingwith, for example, an alkaline developing solution depends on the acidconcentration of the resist film, and the acid concentration of theresist film is also affected by the acid concentration of the baseplanarizing film.

When the shape of the resist pattern becomes unstable to fail to form aresist pattern with a desired dimension as described above, etching onthe film to be processed using the resist pattern as a mask also varies,eventually leading to failure to stably form the pattern with a desireddimension.

The present invention has been developed in consideration of the abovepoints, and its object is to finally stably form a pattern with adesired dimension above a substrate such as a wafer in a pattern formingprocessing of performing a plurality of rounds of patterning.

To attain the above object, the present invention is a substrateprocessing method of performing a plurality of rounds of patterning on afilm to be processed located at a same layer above a surface of asubstrate, the processing being performed on a plurality of substrates,the method including the step of forming a planarizing film above thesubstrate between successive rounds of patterning of the plurality ofrounds of patterning. In the present invention, time from completion ofthe step of forming a planarizing film to start of subsequent round ofpatterning is made constant among the substrates.

According to the present invention, the time from completion of the stepof forming a planarizing film to start of subsequent round of patterningis made constant among the substrates, so that, for example, thevolatilization volume of a volatile component in the planarizing filmand the amount of moisture or the like adhering to the planarizing filmare constant, resulting in the constant acid concentration of theplanarizing film among the substrates. As a result, the shape of aresist pattern to be formed on the planarizing film is stably formedhaving a desired dimension, so that a pattern with a desired dimensionis finally stably formed in the film to be processed.

The present invention according to another aspect is a substrateprocessing system for performing a plurality of rounds of patterning ona film to be processed located at a same layer above a surface of asubstrate, the processing being performed on a plurality of substrates,the system including: a patterning system for performing each of therounds of patterning; a planarizing film forming unit for forming aplanarizing film above the substrate between successive rounds ofpatterning of the plurality of rounds of patterning; a substrate housingunit capable of temporarily housing the substrate transferred from theplanarizing film forming unit to the patterning system; and a substratetransfer unit for transferring the substrate between the planarizingfilm forming unit, the patterning system, and the substrate housingunit.

The present invention according to still another aspect is acomputer-readable storage medium storing a program running on a computerof a control unit for controlling a substrate processing system toexecute the above-described substrate processing method in the substrateprocessing system.

According to the present invention, a pattern with a desired dimensioncan be stably formed in a film to be processed above a substrate by aplurality of rounds of patterning, thus promoting the miniaturization ofa semiconductor device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a configuration of a substrate processingsystem;

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a configuration of a resist filmforming unit in the substrate processing system;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of pattern forming processing;

FIG. 4A is a longitudinal sectional view of a wafer before processing,FIG. 4B is a longitudinal sectional view of the wafer above which aresist film in the first round is formed, FIG. 4C is a longitudinalsectional view of the wafer above which a resist pattern in the firstround is formed, and FIG. 4D is a longitudinal sectional view showing astate in which a pattern in the first round is formed in a film to beprocessed;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the wafer above which aplanarizing film is formed; and

FIG. 6A is a longitudinal sectional view of the wafer above which aresist film in the second round is formed, FIG. 6B is a longitudinalsectional view of the wafer above which a resist pattern in the secondround is formed, and FIG. 6C is a longitudinal sectional view of thewafer with a final pattern formed in the film to be processed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the outline of a configurationof a substrate processing system 1 according to this embodiment.

The substrate processing system 1 has, as shown in FIG. 1, aconfiguration in which, for example, a cassette station 2 fortransferring a plurality of wafers W per cassette as a unitthereinto/therefrom and a processing station 3 including a plurality ofvarious kinds of units for performing predetermined processing ortreatment for the wafers W in a manner of single wafer processing, areintegrally connected.

The cassette station 2 includes a cassette mounting section 4 and atransfer path 5. In the cassette mounting section 4, cassettes C eachcapable of housing a plurality of substrates W can be mounted side byside in an X-direction (a top-to-bottom direction in FIG. 1). On theside of the positive direction in a Y-direction (the right direction inFIG. 1) to the cassette mounting section 4, the transfer path 5 that islong in an X-direction is adjacent. In the transfer path 5, for example,a transfer rail 10 extending in the X-direction and a main transfer unit11 as a third substrate transfer unit moving on the transfer rail 10 areprovided.

The main transfer unit 11 includes a multi-joint transfer arm 11 a thatis, for example, rotatable in a θ-direction and extensible in thehorizontal direction. The main transfer unit 11 can transfer the wafer Wto the cassettes C in the cassette mounting section 4 andlater-described units 20 to 28 in the processing station 3.

The processing station 3 is provided on the side of the positivedirection in the Y-direction to the transfer path 5. In the processingstation 3, a cleaning unit 20 for cleaning the wafers W in a manner ofsingle wafer processing, a planarizing film forming unit 21 for forminga planarizing film above the wafer W, and a patterning system A forperforming patterning on a film to be processed above the wafer W arearranged. The patterning system A comprises, for example, a resist filmforming unit 22 for forming a resist film above the wafer W, an exposureunit 23 for exposing the resist film above the wafer W to light, apost-exposure baking unit 24 for heating the exposed wafer W, adeveloping unit 25 for developing the resist film, a post-baking unit 26for heating the wafer W after the development, an etching unit 27 foretching a resist pattern formed by the development, and a resistremoving unit 28 for removing the resist pattern. Note that thepost-exposure baking unit 24 and the post-baking unit 26 also have afunction for cooling the wafer W.

The above-described cleaning unit 20, the planarizing film forming unit21, and the resist film forming unit 22, the exposure unit 23, thepost-exposure baking unit 24, the developing unit 25, the post-bakingunit 26, the etching unit 27, and the resist removing unit 28 in thepatterning system A are linearly arranged in this order along thetransfer path 5. The units 20 to 28 are connected side by side on theside of the transfer path 5 so that the main transfer unit 11 can accesseach of the units 20 to 28 and transfer the wafer W between the units 20to 28.

Between the planarizing film forming unit 21 and the resist film formingunit 22, a first sub-transfer unit 30 as a substrate transfer unit and abuffer cassette 31 as a substrate housing unit capable of temporarilyhousing a plurality of wafers W are provided. The first sub-transferunit 30 has a multi-joint transfer arm 30 a that is rotatable, forexample, in the θ-direction and extensible in the horizontal direction,and can access the planarizing film forming unit 21, the resist filmforming unit 22 and the buffer cassette 31 and transfer the wafer W tothem.

Between the cleaning unit 20 and the planarizing film forming unit 21, asecond sub-transfer unit 40 as a second substrate transfer unit, and abuffer cassette 41 as another substrate housing unit capable oftemporarily housing a plurality of wafers W are provided. The secondsub-transfer unit 40 has a multi-joint transfer arm 40 a that isrotatable, for example, in the θ-direction and extensible in thehorizontal direction, and can access the cleaning unit 20, theplanarizing film forming unit 21, and the buffer cassette 41 andtransfer the wafer W to them.

The resist film forming unit 22 has a third sub-transfer unit 50, forexample, at the center as shown in FIG. 2. Around the third sub-transferunit 50, for example, a delivery table 51 for delivering the wafer W, aprocessing unit group B having a plurality of processing and treatmentunits at multiple tiers, and a resist coating unit 52 for applying aresist solution onto the wafer W, are provided. In the processing unitgroup B, for example, a plurality of thermal processing units 53 eachfor performing heating, cooling or temperature adjustment of the waferW, an edge exposure unit 54 for exposing the edge portion of the wafer Wto light, and so on are multi-tiered. The above-described main transferunit 11 and the first sub-transfer unit 30 can access the delivery table51 and transfer the wafer W to it. The third sub-transfer unit 50 has amulti-joint transfer arm 50 a that is rotatable, for example, in theθ-direction and extensible in the horizontal direction, and can accessthe delivery table 51, the units 53 and 54 in the processing unit groupB, and the resist coating unit 52 and transfer the wafer W to them.

The substrate processing system 1 includes, for example, as shown inFIG. 1, a control unit 60 which controls operations of theabove-described units, the transfer units and so on to realize thepattern forming processing on a film to be processed above the wafer W.The control unit 60 is composed of, for example, a computer comprising aCPU and a memory, and can realize the pattern forming processing in thesubstrate processing system 1, for example, by executing programs storedin the memory.

Note that various kinds of programs for realizing the pattern formingprocessing in the substrate processing system 1 may be ones which havebeen stored in a storage medium H such as a computer-readable CD or thelike and installed on the control unit 60 from the storage medium H.

In the control unit 60, for example, a program to manage the time fromthe completion of the cleaning treatment in the cleaning unit 20 to thestart of the planarizing film forming processing in the planarizing filmforming unit 21 to be constant, and a program to manage the time fromthe completion of the planarizing film forming processing in theplanarizing film forming unit 21 to the start of the forming processingof the resist film in the resist film forming unit 22 (the start ofsubsequent round of patterning) to be constant, have been installed bymeans of the storage medium H.

Next, the pattern forming process on the film to be processed above thewafer W which is performed using the above-described substrateprocessing system 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of thispattern forming process. Note that, in this embodiment, a case will bedescribed taken as an example in which a lower-layer film E such as anorganic lower-layer film has been formed on the surface of the wafer W,and an SOG (Spin On Glass) film F as the film to be processed as anupper-layer film on the lower-layer film E has been formed in advance asshown in FIG. 4A, and patterning is performed two rounds in total on theSOG film F.

First of all, a first round of patterning is started (S1 in FIG. 3) inwhich a plurality of wafers W of the same lot in the cassette C shown inFIG. 1 are taken out by the main transfer unit 11 one by one, andsuccessively transferred to the resist film forming unit 22 in thepatterning system A. The wafer W transferred to the resist film formingunit 22 is first mounted by the main transfer unit 11 onto the deliverytable 51 shown in FIG. 2. The wafer W is then transferred by the thirdsub-transfer unit 50 to the thermal processing unit 53 in the processingunit group B and temperature-adjusted to a predetermined temperature,and then transferred by the third sub-transfer unit 50 to the resistcoating unit 52. In the resist coating unit 52, a chemically amplifiedresist solution is applied, for example, to the surface of the wafer W,whereby a resist film R1 in the first round is formed, for example,above the surface of the wafer W as shown in FIG. 4B.

The wafer W is then transferred by the third sub-transfer unit 50, forexample, to the thermal processing unit 53 and subjected to pre-baking.The wafer W is then transferred to the edge exposure unit 54 so that theedge portion of the wafer W is exposed to light, and thereafter thewafer W is returned onto the delivery table 51 by the third sub-transferunit 50. The wafer W is then transferred by the main transfer unit 11 tothe adjacent exposure unit 23 shown in FIG. 1, where a predeterminedpattern is exposed on the resist film R1 above the wafer W. Aftercompletion of the exposure processing, the wafer W is transferred by themain transfer unit 11 to the adjacent post-exposure baking unit 24 andsubjected to post-exposure baking.

The wafer W is then transferred by the main transfer unit 11 to theadjacent developing unit 25, so that the resist film R1 above the waferW is developed. The wafer W is then transferred by the main transferunit 111 to the adjacent post-baking unit 26 and subjected topost-baking. Thus, a resist pattern K1 is formed above the surface ofthe wafer W as shown in FIG. 4C. The wafer W is then transferred by themain transfer unit 11 to the adjacent etching unit 27 shown in FIG. 1,where the SOG film F being the film to be processed is etched using theresist pattern K1 as a mask. The wafer W is thereafter transferred bythe main transfer unit 11 to the resist removing unit 28, where theresist pattern K1 no longer required is removed. Thus, the first roundof patterning is completed, resulting in formation of a predeterminedpattern B1 in the SOG film F above the wafer W as shown in FIG. 4D.

The wafers W on which the first round of patterning has been completedare successively held, for example, by the main transfer unit 11 shownin FIG. 1 and moved in the transfer path 5 and transferred from theresist removing unit 28 to the cleaning unit 20. In the cleaning unit20, the surface of the wafer W is cleaned (S2 in FIG. 3).

After cleaning, the wafer W is temporarily housed in the adjacent buffercassette 41 by the second sub-transfer unit 40 and waiting therein. Thewafer W is then transferred by the second sub-transfer unit 40 from thebuffer cassette 41 to the planarizing film forming unit 21. By adjustingthe waiting time for each wafer W in the buffer cassette 41 in thisevent, a time T1 from the completion of the cleaning treatment for thewafer W in the cleaning unit 20 to the start of the forming processingof the planarizing film in the planarizing film forming unit 21 iscontrolled to be constant among the wafers. This manages the time T1 foreach wafer W to a constant set time which has been previouslydetermined.

When the wafer W is transferred to the planarizing film forming unit 21,a planarizing film G is formed above the surface of the wafer W as shownin FIG. 5 (S3 in FIG. 3). The wafer W is then temporarily housed in theadjacent buffer cassette 31 shown in FIG. 1 by the first sub-transferunit 30 and waiting therein. The wafer W is then transferred by thefirst sub-transfer unit 30 from the buffer cassette 31 to the resistfilm forming unit 22 in the patterning system A. By adjusting thewaiting time for each wafer W in the buffer cassette 31 in this event, atime T2 from the completion of the forming processing of the planarizingfilm in the planarizing film forming unit 21 to the start of the formingprocessing of the resist film in the resist film forming unit 22 (thestart of the second round of patterning) is controlled to be constantamong the wafers. This manages the time T2 for each wafer W to aconstant set time which has been previously determined.

When the wafer W is transferred to the resist film forming unit 22, thesecond round of patterning is started (S4 in FIG. 3). In the secondround of patterning, as in the first round of patterning, the wafer W isfirst transferred by the third sub-transfer unit 50 to the thermalprocessing unit 53 and temperature-adjusted, and then transferred to theresist coating unit 52, where a resist film R2 in the second round isformed on the planarizing film G as shown in FIG. 6A.

The wafer W is then transferred to the thermal processing unit 53 andthe edge exposure unit 54 in sequence and subjected to pre-baking andedge exposure processing, and then transferred by the main transfer unit11 to the exposure unit 23 shown in FIG. 1. In the exposure unit 23, theresist film R2 above the wafer W is exposed to light in a predeterminedpattern. After completion of the exposure, the wafer W is transferred bythe main transfer unit 11 to the post-exposure baking unit 24 andsubjected to post-exposure baking, and then transferred to thedeveloping unit 25 and subjected to development. The wafer W is thentransferred by the main transfer unit 11 to the post-baking unit 26 andsubjected to post-baking. Thus, a resist pattern K2 in the second roundis formed as shown in FIG. 6B. The wafer W is then transferred by themain transfer unit 11 to the etching unit 27 shown in FIG. 1, where theplanarizing film G and the SOG film F are etched using the resistpattern K2 as a mask. The wafer W is thereafter transferred by the maintransfer unit 11 to the resist removing unit 28, where the resistpattern K2 and the planarizing film G are removed. Thus, the secondround of patterning is completed, resulting in formation of a finalpattern B2 in the SOG film F above the wafer W as shown in FIG. 6C.

The wafers W above which the pattern B2 has been formed are returned insuccession by the main transfer unit 11 from the resist removing unit 28into the cassette C, with which a series of pattern forming processingends. Note that the pattern forming processing is performed such that aplurality of wafers W in each lot for the same recipe are successivelytransferred.

According to the above embodiment, the time T2 from the completion ofthe forming processing of the planarizing film to the start of thesubsequent round of patterning is managed to be constant among thewafers, thus making the volatilization volume of a volatile component inthe planarizing film G and the amount of moisture or the like adheringto the planarizing film G the same among the wafers, resulting in aconstant oxygen concentration on the surface of the planarizing film G.As a result, the acid concentration of the resist film R2 formed on theplanarizing film G is constant among the wafers, so that the shape ofthe resist pattern K2 which is formed by development of the resist filmR2 is stabilized to have a desired dimension. Accordingly, the pattern Bwith a desired dimension can be finally stably formed in the SOG film F.

By the way, the molecular contamination, the amount of adheringmoisture, and the volatilization volume of a volatile component on thesurface of the wafer W from the completion of the cleaning treatment tothe start of the forming processing of the planarizing film affect thecoating property and the embedding property of the planarizing film G.In the above embodiment, the time T1 from the completion of the cleaningtreatment for the wafer W to the start of the forming processing of theplanarizing film is managed to be constant among the wafers, so that thefilm thickness and the embedding state of the coating solution of theplanarizing film G can be made uniform to further stabilize the shape ofthe resist pattern K2. As a result, the dimension of the final resistpattern B can be further stabilized.

In the above embodiment, the first sub-transfer unit 30 and the buffercassette 31 are provided between the planarizing film forming unit 21and the resist film forming unit 22, thereby enabling easy management ofthe time T2 from the completion of the forming processing of theplanarizing film to the start of the subsequent round of patterning. Inaddition, the second sub-transfer unit 40 and the buffer cassette 41 areprovided between the cleaning unit 20 and the planarizing film formingunit 21, thereby enabling easy management of the time T1 from thecompletion of the cleaning treatment to the start of the planarizingfilm forming processing.

The cleaning unit 20, the planarizing film forming unit 21, and thepatterning system A are linearly arranged in this order and the maintransfer unit 11 which performs transfer of the wafer W between thecleaning unit 20 and the resist removing unit 28 in the patterningsystem A is provided in the substrate processing system 1, so that thewafer W can be processed by being circulated from the patterning systemA, the cleaning unit 20, the planarizing film forming unit 21 to thepatterning system A in this order.

Thus, two rounds of patterning can be preferably performed in thesubstrate processing system 1. Further, since the cleaning unit 20 isadjacent to the planarizing film forming unit 21, and the planarizingfilm forming unit 21 is adjacent to the patterning system A, the time T1between the cleaning treatment and the planarizing film formingprocessing and the time T2 between the planarizing film formingprocessing and the patterning are easily managed.

Furthermore, the units 22 to 28 in the patterning system A are connectedto the side of the transfer path 5 and provided along the transfer path5 so that the main transfer unit 11 can transfer the wafer W alsobetween the units 22 to 28 in the patterning system A. This allowsappropriate transfer of the wafer W during the patterning in which thewafer W is circulated to a plurality of units.

Note that though the transfer of the wafer W between the units 22 to 28in the patterning system A is performed by the main transfer unit 11 inthe above embodiment, substrate transfer units may be individuallyprovided between adjacent units.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described abovewith reference to the accompanying drawings, and the present inventionis not limited to the embodiment. It should be understood that variouschanges and modifications within the scope of the spirit as set forth inclaims are readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and thoseshould also be covered by the technical scope of the present invention.

The number of rounds of patterning is two in the above embodiment, andthe present invention is also applicable to the case of three rounds ormore. Also in the case of three rounds or more, the time T2 from theplanarizing film forming processing performed between successive roundsof patterning to the start of the subsequent round of patterning andtime T1 from the completion of the cleaning treatment to the start ofthe forming processing of the planarizing film are managed to beconstant among the wafers.

Besides, the film to be processed in which the pattern is to be formedis not limited to the SOG film but may be other kinds of films. Thearrangement of units in the processing station 3 is not limited to thatin the above embodiment but may be another arrangement of unitsaccording to the pattern to be formed. Further, a detecting unit whichdetects the line width of the pattern, the film thickness of the coatingfilm and the like may be provided in the arrangement of units in thesubstrate processing system so that the state of the first round ofpatterning after etching may be monitored so as to conduct control suchthat the heating temperature in the thermal processing unit and thedeveloping time in the developing unit are changed based on themonitoring to optimize the second round of patterning processing.Furthermore, the present invention is also applicable to processing forsubstrates other than the wafer, such as an FPD (Flat Panel Display), amask reticle for a photomask, and the like.

The present invention is useful in stably forming a pattern with adesired dimension by a plurality of rounds of patterning.

1. A substrate processing method of performing a plurality of rounds ofpatterning on a film to be processed located at a same layer above asurface of a substrate, said processing being performed on a pluralityof substrates, said method comprising steps of: forming a planarizingfilm above the substrate between successive rounds of patterning of theplurality of rounds of patterning; and then forming a resist film on theplanarizing film, for a second round of patterning of the successiverounds of patterning, wherein time from completion of said step offorming the planarizing film to start of subsequent round of patterningis made constant among the substrates.
 2. The substrate processingmethod as set forth in claim 1, further comprising the step of: cleaningthe substrate immediately before said step of forming a planarizingfilm, wherein time from completion of said step of cleaning thesubstrate to start of said step of forming the planarizing film is madeconstant among the substrates.
 3. The substrate processing method as setforth in claim 1, further comprising: cleaning the substrate immediatelybefore said step of forming the planarizing film, wherein time fromcompletion of said step of cleaning the substrate to start of said stepof forming the planarizing film is made constant among the substrates,the step of cleaning is performed with a cleaning unit, the step offorming the planarizing film is performed with a planarizing filmforming unit, and the each of the rounds of patterning is performed witha patterning system, and the cleaning unit, the planarizing film formingunit, and the patterning system are linearly arranged in this order. 4.The substrate processing method as set forth in claim 1, furthercomprising: temperature adjusting the substrate after the formation ofthe planarizing film; and then performing a second round of patterningof the successive rounds of patterning.
 5. The substrate processingmethod as set forth in claim 1, further comprising: making avolatilization volume of a volatile component in the planarizing filmand an amount of moisture adhering to the planarizing film same amongthe substrates.
 6. A substrate processing method of performing aplurality of rounds of patterning on a film to be processed located at asame layer above a surface of a substrate, said processing beingperformed on a plurality of substrates, said method comprising: forminga planarizing film above the substrate between successive rounds ofpatterning of the plurality of rounds of patterning; and temporarilyhousing the substrate above which the planarizing film has been formedinto a substrate housing unit and keeping the substrate waiting thereinto adjust a waiting time in the substrate housing unit, wherein timefrom completion of said step of forming a planarizing film to start ofsubsequent round of patterning is made constant among the substrates. 7.The substrate processing method as set forth in claim 6, furthercomprising: cleaning the substrate immediately before said step offorming a planarizing film, wherein time from completion of said step ofcleaning the substrate to start of said step of forming the planarizingfilm is made constant among the substrates by temporarily housing thesubstrate after the cleaning into another substrate housing unit andkeeping the substrate waiting therein to adjust a waiting time in theanother substrate housing unit.
 8. The substrate processing method asset forth in claim 6, further comprising: making a volatilization volumeof a volatile component in the planarizing film and an amount ofmoisture adhering to the planarizing film same among the substrates.